The Daily Audio Bible
Today's audio is from the CSB. Switch to the CSB to read along with the audio.
Joseph in Potiphar’s House
39 Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 Joseph’s master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he did successful. 4 Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned. 5 From that time on the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s household because of Joseph. Therefore, the Lord’s blessing was on everything Potiphar owned in his house and in his fields. 6 So he left all that he owned in Joseph’s care. He wasn’t concerned about anything except the food he ate.
Joseph was well-built and handsome. 7 After a while his master’s wife began to desire Joseph, so she said, “Come to bed with me.”
8 But Joseph refused and said to her, “My master doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house. He trusts me with everything he owns. 9 No one in this house is greater than I. He’s kept nothing back from me except you, because you’re his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” 10 Although she kept asking Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. 12 She grabbed him by his clothes and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he ran outside and left his clothes in her hand.
13 When she realized that he had gone but had left his clothes behind, 14 she called her household servants and said to them, “Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed as loud as I could. 15 As soon as he heard me scream, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”
16 She kept Joseph’s clothes with her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought here came in and tried to fool around with me. 18 But when I screamed, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”
19 When Potiphar heard his wife’s story, especially when she said, “This is what your slave did to me,” he became very angry. 20 So Joseph’s master arrested him and put him in the same prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.
While Joseph was in prison, 21 the Lord was with him. The Lord reached out to him with his unchanging love and gave him protection. The Lord also put Joseph on good terms with the warden. 22 So the warden placed Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in that prison. Joseph became responsible for everything that they were doing. 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because the Lord was with Joseph and made whatever he did successful.
Joseph in Prison
40 Later the king’s cupbearer [a] and his baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry with his chief cupbearer and his chief baker. 3 He put them in the prison of the captain of the guard, the same place where Joseph was a prisoner. 4 The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them.
After they had been confined for some time, 5 both prisoners—the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt—had dreams one night. Each man had a dream with its own special meaning.
6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. 7 So he asked these officials of Pharaoh who were with him in his master’s prison, “Why do you look so unhappy today?”
8 “We both had dreams,” they answered him, “but there’s no one to tell us what they mean.”
“Isn’t God the only one who can tell what they mean?” Joseph asked them. “Why don’t you tell me all about them.”
9 So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said “In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me. 10 Soon after it sprouted it blossomed. Then its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed them into it. I put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”
12 “This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. 13 In the next three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 Remember me when things go well for you, and please do me a favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. 15 I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I’ve done nothing to deserve being put in this prison.”
16 The chief baker saw that the meaning Joseph had given to the cupbearer’s dream was good. So he said to Joseph, “I had a dream too. In my dream three baskets of white baked goods were on my head. 17 The top basket contained all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 “This is what it means,” Joseph replied. “The three baskets are three days. 19 In the next three days Pharaoh will cut off your head and hang your dead body on a pole. The birds will eat the flesh from your bones.”
20 Two days later, on his birthday, Pharaoh had a special dinner prepared for all his servants. Of all his servants he gave special attention to the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position. So the cupbearer put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. 22 But he hung the chief baker just as Joseph had said in his interpretation.
23 Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph. He forgot all about him.
Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams
41 After two full years Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed he was standing by the Nile River. 2 Suddenly, seven nice-looking, well-fed cows came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. 3 Seven other cows came up from the river behind them. These cows were sickly and skinny. They stood behind the first seven cows on the riverbank. 4 The cows that were sickly and skinny ate the seven nice-looking, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
5 He fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven good, healthy heads of grain were growing on a single stalk. 6 Seven other heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. 7 The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven full, healthy heads. Then Pharaoh woke up. It was only a dream.
8 In the morning he was so upset that he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could tell him what they meant.
9 Then the chief cupbearer [b] spoke to Pharaoh, “I remember a promise I failed to keep. 10 Some time ago when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, he confined me and the chief baker to the captain of the guard’s prison. 11 We both had dreams the same night. Each dream had its own meaning. 12 A young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guard, was with us. We told him our dreams, and he told each of us what they meant. 13 What he told us happened: Pharaoh restored me to my position, but he hung the baker on a pole.”
14 Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and immediately he was brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came in front of Pharaoh.
15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can tell me what it means. I heard that when you are told a dream, you can say what it means.”
16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, “I can’t, but God can give Pharaoh the answer that he needs.”
The True Family of Jesus(A)
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside. They wanted to talk to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to talk to you.”
48 He replied to the man speaking to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.”
A Story about a Farmer(B)
13 That same day Jesus left the house and sat down by the Sea of Galilee. 2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat. He sat in the boat while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he used stories as illustrations to tell them many things.
He said, “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4 Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. They withered because their roots weren’t deep enough. 7 Other seeds were planted among thornbushes, and the thornbushes grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds were planted on good ground and produced grain. They produced one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted. 9 Let the person who has ears listen!”
10 The disciples asked him, “Why do you use stories as illustrations when you speak to people?”
11 Jesus answered, “Knowledge about the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you. But it has not been given to the crowd. 12 Those who understand ⌞these mysteries⌟ will be given ⌞more knowledge⌟, and they will excel ⌞in understanding them⌟. However, some people don’t understand ⌞these mysteries⌟. Even what they understand will be taken away from them. 13 This is why I speak to them this way. They see, but they’re blind. They hear, but they don’t listen. They don’t even try to understand. 14 So they make Isaiah’s prophecy come true:
‘You will hear clearly but never understand.
You will see clearly but never comprehend.
15 These people have become close-minded
and hard of hearing.
They have shut their eyes
so that their eyes never see.
Their ears never hear.
Their minds never understand.
And they never return to me for healing!’
16 “Blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. 17 I can guarantee this truth: Many prophets and many of God’s people longed to see what you see but didn’t see it, to hear what you hear but didn’t hear it.
18 “Listen to what the story about the farmer means. 19 Someone hears the word about the kingdom but doesn’t understand it. The evil one comes at once and snatches away what was planted in him. This is what the seed planted along the road illustrates. 20 The seed planted on rocky ground ⌞is the person who⌟ hears the word and accepts it at once with joy. 21 Since he doesn’t have any root, he lasts only a little while. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls ⌞from faith⌟. 22 The seed planted among thornbushes ⌞is another person who⌟ hears the word. But the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of riches choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. 23 But the seed planted on good ground ⌞is the person who⌟ hears and understands the word. This type produces crops. They produce one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted.”
A prayer by David.
17 Hear my plea for justice, O Lord.
Pay attention to my cry.
Open your ears to my prayer,
⌞which comes⌟ from lips free from deceit.
2 Let the verdict of my innocence come directly from you.
Let your eyes observe what is fair.
3 You have probed my heart.
You have confronted me at night.
You have tested me like silver,
but you found nothing wrong.
I have determined that my mouth will not sin.
4 I have avoided cruelty because of your word.
In spite of what others have done,
5 my steps have remained firmly in your paths.
My feet have not slipped.
6 I have called on you because you answer me, O God.
Turn your ear toward me.
Hear what I have to say.
7 Reveal your miraculous deeds of mercy,
O Savior of those who find refuge by your side
from those who attack them.
8 Guard me as if I were the pupil in your eye.
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Hide me from wicked people who violently attack me,
from my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have shut out all feeling.
Their mouths have spoken arrogantly.
11 They have tracked me down.
They have surrounded me.
They have focused their attention on throwing me to the ground.
12 Each one of them is like a lion eager to tear ⌞its prey⌟ apart
and like a young lion crouching in hiding places.
13 Arise, O Lord; confront them!
Bring them to their knees!
With your sword rescue my life from wicked people.
14 With your power rescue me from mortals, O Lord,
from mortals who enjoy their inheritance only in this life.
You fill their bellies with your treasure.
Their children are satisfied ⌞with it⌟,
and they leave what remains to their children.
15 I will see your face when I am declared innocent.
When I wake up, I will be satisfied ⌞with seeing⌟ you.
33 The Lord curses the house of wicked people,
but he blesses the home of righteous people.
34 When he mocks the mockers,
he is gracious to humble people.
35 Wise people will inherit honor,
but fools will bear disgrace.
Copyright © 1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God’s Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.